Chapter 181: The Master Craftsman Is Zashiki Warashi?! Favorability Up, King Kujira Three-and-a-half Star
The night grew deeper.
Finally, the drifting clouds swallowed the silver moon in the sky completely, bringing pitch-black darkness so thick that one couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face down upon the earth.
Not to mention, Kujira Gorō, who had been carrying a torch, had already left earlier.
But this had no effect on Shangshan Che. He, wearing the Hannya Mask at his waist, could see as clearly in the night as in daylight.
After using his Qi Barrier to simply remove the dust from the room, he had Imagawa Yoshimoto sit on the dry bamboo mat.
This room was more like a small storage room than a place for people to live, so there was no distinction between dōza and earth-floored areas, nor was there a heated platform for cooking.
The girl was removing her armor.
Even in the darkness, Imagawa Yoshimoto could rely on past experience to remove her complex modern armor piece by piece, then place it neatly to the side.
After removing the heavy armor, it revealed the silk kimono sleeve underneath, padded with cotton for warmth.
The kimono sleeve existed to prevent direct friction between the armor and skin, so it clung tightly and closely to the body.
Thus, her curves were prominent.
But Imagawa Yoshimoto didn’t mind these things. Anyway, at this moment, even she needed to hold her palm up to her nose to see clearly.
“Lord Yoshimoto, please rest early.”
Shangshan Che removed his large priest’s robe and handed the edge of the sleeves to Imagawa Yoshimoto.
He stood up and said, “I’ll go out for a walk to prevent any accidents.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Tetsu-kun.”
After responding, Imagawa Yoshimoto pulled over the still-warm robe from inside and covered herself with it.
—In the Sengoku Period, there was no concept of a “quilt,” so most people slept by removing their everyday clothes and covering themselves with them.
—And it wasn’t uncommon for vassals to remove their warm clothing and give it to their lord.
Shangshan Che didn’t say much more, but deliberately made his footsteps audible so Imagawa Yoshimoto could hear him leave.
Then he held his breath and controlled his steps, not making even the slightest sound.
In less than half an hour, Shangshan Che, with his extremely fast foot speed, had circled Yamajira Village twice.
Aside from a few night watchmen including Kujira Gorō holding torches, he discovered no other unusual situations.
However, Yamajira Village’s defensive forces were quite complete, probably thanks to the existence of nearby Mount Yamajira.
And precisely because of this, Kujira Gorō said they had been able to repel the Zero-Star Affliction Kin.
Shangshan Che quietly returned to the doorway of the small house.
But he found Imagawa Yoshimoto on the grass mat tossing and turning, causing the robe and mat to rub together and make constant rustling sounds.
The girl was still wide-eyed, lost in thought, with no sign of sleepiness at all.
“Lord Yoshimoto, not asleep yet?”
!
Shangshan Che could clearly see the girl wrapped in his robe tremble suddenly, her worried expression on her small face stiffening for a moment.
But in just a moment, she let out a soft breath with a hint of annoyance.
Only then did he remember that he had approached completely silently.
Suddenly speaking up like this had probably startled Imagawa Yoshimoto.
But Shangshan Che didn’t apologize, because Imagawa Yoshimoto seemed unaware that he could see clearly in the dark.
He simply sat cross-legged outside of Imagawa Yoshimoto,
“Lord Yoshimoto, go to sleep soon. The pressure each day ahead will only grow greater… To deal with Affliction and the great demons, it’ll take at least over a month.”
Shangshan Che said, “So ensuring sleep quality is even more important to build strength and face these powerful enemies.”
He leaned against the wall, preparing to close his eyes for a short rest—spending a lot of time with Lili Zi had taught him a bit of her sleeping method.
This situation was perfect for that kind of sleep where he could hear the grass move in the wind.
Imagawa Yoshimoto responded, “Okay.”
But when Shangshan Che turned to look, he found she hadn’t closed her eyes at all, just stopped rolling around.
After a long time, he saw Imagawa Yoshimoto open her mouth slightly and murmur in a tiny voice like a mosquito’s hum,
“Tetsu-kun… I feel a bit guilty.”
Though she said this, her expression didn’t change at all, still that cold, proud demeanor that kept people at a distance.
Only her eyes were filled with regret.
“Why couldn’t I save so many of my people… Why didn’t I take this matter to heart earlier…”
“If I had taken it seriously sooner, would the situation have improved a bit?
If I had listened to your advice right away, Tetsu-kun, would fewer people have died?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto was regretting.
But she would never say such things in front of anyone; she could only tell herself in this pitch-black night where she couldn’t see her own hand.
Because Imagawa Yoshimoto was always proud, confident, and perfect.
Shangshan Che stared at those lost eyes for a while, then gently said, “Though I want to comfort you and say yes.”
“But Lord Yoshimoto, at this point, regret and remorse won’t save anyone.”
Shangshan Che saw astonishment appear on the girl’s face, as if surprised that he was still awake and had heard such a faint murmur.
He continued, “Right now, the only thing we can do is quickly figure out those demons’ goals, then purge the kin one by one, letting the people of Mikawa Province know you’ve come.
Finally, slay all those great demons and Affliction.”
“Yes, only that way.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto extended her fist in front of her and silently clenched it tight: “Sorry… Tetsu-kun, for complaining so much to you.”
“No matter.”
Shangshan Che touched the trembling hilt of Kaga Kiyomitsu and replied,
“I will become the blade and sword in your hand, slaying all those demons and monsters that dare to wreak havoc.”
He heard Imagawa Yoshimoto laugh once.
So pleasant.
“Sounds really reliable.”
The girl, nearly suffocated by Mikawa Province’s current state, pursed her lips, curled into a ball, and wrapped the priest’s robe tighter around herself,
“Then from now on, I’ll have to trouble you even more, Tetsu-kun.”
Shangshan Che withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes,
“My honor.”
After that, the night passed without words.
The next morning.
Rustling voices of conversation and footsteps came from all over Yamajira Village; roughly listening, there were at least a hundred such sounds.
Shangshan Che, who had been pretending to sleep, had just opened the half-closed wooden door when he saw Kujira Gorō hurrying from nearby, respectfully saying to him,
“Che Adult, we will leave the village today and head into To-ōmi Province.”
Shangshan Che glanced over and saw villagers everywhere carrying their luggage in cloth bags.
Yamajira Village did what it said; long-term high pressure had indeed made their efficiency very high.
“Do you have any amulets or other small items?” Shangshan Che asked.
Kujira Gorō was momentarily stunned, but he didn’t ask more and nodded directly: “Yes! Adult, yes!”
The village chief took out several roughly made amulets from his cloth bag—they were ones he had prepared to distribute to the children.
Shangshan Che took the amulets and, after a few deep breaths, infused them with a little lightning power,
“I’ve blessed these amulets. In an emergency, throw them at the demons; killing weak demons won’t be a problem.”
He handed them back to Kujira Gorō: “Consider it payment for sheltering us one night and providing intelligence.”
Kujira Gorō bowed his head, and upon seeing the amulets in his hand emitting fine lightning and seeming to surge with righteousness, he quickly bowed deeply,
“Thank you, Adult! Thank you, Adult!”
“Just mutual benefit, no need for thanks.” Shangshan Che turned and left the words, “We’re leaving too… Good luck, Village Chief Kujira Gorō.”
Kujira Gorō remained in a ninety-degree bow and called out loudly,
“—Kujira Gorō will never forget today’s kindness!”
……
After bidding farewell to Kujira Gorō, Shangshan Che also met up with Imagawa Yoshimoto, who had donned her armor inside the house.
He took out a convenience store rice ball from his storage bag, unwrapped it, heated it briefly with Qi Barrier, and handed it to her.
“This one’s pretty good.”
Biting into the soft, glutinous seaweed-smoked salmon rice ball, Imagawa Yoshimoto’s eyes widened slightly.
“Lord Yoshimoto, if you want more, there are plenty.”
Shangshan Che pondered that this era probably couldn’t produce the sauce in the rice ball, so he attributed it to his nonexistent hometown: “This is a specialty from my homeland.”
After the girl finished eating and patted her little belly, she said a bit embarrassedly,
“Then, one more.”
After simply finishing breakfast, the two mounted their horses and left Yamajira Village, where a vast crowd was streaming out the other side.
Imagawa Yoshimoto looked back with some confusion: “Why aren’t some villagers leaving?”
“Probably because of attachment to their homeland and fear of the unknown.” Shangshan Che opened the map to check again. “If they can live peacefully forever, how many would choose the unknown?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto responded and silently noted the words.
—Tetsu-kun always says such profound sentences.
—No inexplicable demons appeared at this time, and Yamajira Village’s group departed safely.
Following the map, Shangshan Che and the other arrived at the edge of Mount Yamajira, then had to dismount and tie the horses at the foot of the mountain.
Because Mount Yamajira was not only surrounded by mist, but even the outermost paths looked extremely rugged.
If they encountered demons inside, a single mishap could mean death for the two horses.
Though they had only parted not long ago, Shangshan Che somewhat missed Two-Foot Adult’s presence.
Without much talk, the two stepped into the mountain.
As Kujira Gorō said, there were no mountain whales—wild boars—in Mount Yamajira.
—Regarding this naming issue, Imagawa Yoshimoto had already explained it to Shangshan Che when they first entered the mountain.
Moreover, not only were there no mountain whales, the entire mountain was almost devoid of insect chirps or bird calls; since entering, Shangshan Che hadn’t seen a single living creature.
Eerily silent.
Even the sound of him snapping a branch could travel over ten meters.
As the saying goes, anything unusual must have a demonic cause, so Shangshan Che felt the probability of the master craftsman living in this quiet mountain was quite high.
Without making noise by talking much, the two followed the rugged and steep natural path upward.
After a full hour and more, Shangshan Che suddenly stopped, gripping the small hand in his—holding hands to prevent getting separated in the thick fog and avoiding accidents was normal.
Imagawa Yoshimoto looked toward him.
Shangshan Che held his breath and listened intently.
Because he had already heard the faint, continuous blacksmithing sounds coming from ahead.
The corner of Shangshan Che’s mouth couldn’t help but curl up: “The destination should be right at the top.”
He pulled Imagawa Yoshimoto upward.
Not long after, a somewhat dilapidated ruined temple appeared in Imagawa Yoshimoto’s sight.
This must be the residence of the legendary master craftsman spoken of by the Sunpu Castle blacksmith and Tetsu-kun.
She raised her finger and gripped his hand harder twice.
Shangshan Che nodded in understanding.
But just as he lifted his foot, Shangshan Che’s steps halted abruptly again.
He slowly turned his gaze, meeting a pair of huge crimson eyes glowing like car headlights in the thick fog.
……
At the same time, Two-Foot Adult, who had been lost for a long time, finally spotted the army resting at noon using her makeshift thermal imager in the mountains.
“What luck.”
She patted her chest, thinking she was fortunate to only be a few hours late without causing a major mistake.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t know how to explain to Che Adult.
—But who could tell that these two mountains and two highways looked almost identical!
When Two-Foot Adult had gone to the other side and found nothing, she suspected for a long time, wondering if Okabe Motonobu’s army could travel hundreds of ri a day and reach Mikawa overnight.
“That’s more like it.”
Two-Foot Adult located the main camp, put away the thermal imager, and slowly descended on the floating board, finally dropping from the sky.
With a patter, she landed in the center of the main camp.
Quickly, it alerted the red-armored hatamoto guarding and patrolling the main camp.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Before Two-Foot Adult could speak, the neatly aligned spear tips were already aimed at her.
—Only a few samurai had seen Two-Foot Adult before.
“Uh…”
Two-Foot Adult hurriedly raised her hands and shouted clearly and rapidly: “Big brothers, don’t kill me! I’m the shikigami of Onmyoji Che Adult! Here to deliver a letter to Okabe Adult!”
But the words “Onmyoji Che” made the hatamoto exchange glances, and the spear tips shifted upward slightly.
After all, this white-dressed girl dropping inexplicably from the sky was indeed something only a legendary shikigami could do.
But the hatamoto still didn’t lower their guard.
The squad leader, surging with Qi Barrier, narrowed his eyes and said gravely, “Then stay right there and don’t move; I’ll go call…”
“Two-Foot Little Boss!”
Before the squad leader finished, an excited voice came from a nearby corner.
The squad leader was slightly stunned but said nothing more.
Because he clearly recognized it as the voice of the child who held the horse for Okabe Adult.
And Okabe Adult treated him kindly, so his status seemed not low.
In two seconds, Shiraishi’s small head poked out from the encirclement of red-armored hatamoto, blinking big eyes and looking around,
“Where’s Big Sis? Has Big Sis come?”
Hearing this, the squad leader immediately raised his hand: “Lower your weapons and get back to your duties.”
The hatamoto stowed their weapons without saying much and resumed their posts.
Seeing this, the squad leader smiled faintly—if he didn’t send these colleagues away, his chance to interact with that adult would be greatly reduced!
He too sheathed his tachi and quickly scanned with his eyes, trying to find Shangshan Che.
“—Huh? Two-Foot Little Boss, why can’t I see Big Sis?”
In front of Two-Foot Adult, two identical Shiraishi were speaking in the exact same tone.
Whoa… since when did this little fellow learn clone technique?
And they looked completely indistinguishable.
Two-Foot Adult shook her head: “I was sent by Che Adult alone to deliver a letter. Shiraishi, quickly take me to Okabe Adult.”
“Sigh…”
Before her eyes, both Shiraishi sighed together, then shattered with a snap into phantoms and vanished.
Two-Foot Adult suddenly felt her shoulder patted; turning, she saw the worried-faced Shiraishi beckoning her toward a tent.
Two-Foot Adult blinked.
She hadn’t noticed the footsteps approaching from behind at all.
The girl stared at Shiraishi striding confidently ahead and smiled.
This little radish head was quite diligent.
The squad leader standing not far away, who had been glancing over but not daring to listen, grew more puzzled.
—Even the shikigami appeared; where was that great onmyoji? Why hadn’t he shown up?
In front of the main tent.
Shiraishi was blocked by two hatamoto.
He explained for a while, but the hatamoto ignored him, letting the noise from this child they couldn’t manage go in one ear and out the other.
So Shiraishi raised his hands at the doorway, jumping anxiously: “I told you! I have urgent news to report!”
The hatamoto, even their faces covered in armor, replied coldly: “Okabe Adult is doing sand table simulations; no outsiders allowed to disturb.”
Shiraishi was going crazy: “Waaah! You two!”
But Two-Foot Adult, arriving from behind, ignored the two hatamoto and barged straight into the tent as if they were invisible.
“How bold!”
The two hatamoto’s faces under their visors changed drastically, and in the cold voice from the tent, they froze in place, cold sweat instantly soaking their backs,
“—Didn’t I say I was doing sand table simulations? No one enters the tent?”
Okabe Motonobu, her train of thought interrupted, turned her gaze and saw a completely unexpected figure.
Che’s shikigami?
She narrowed her eyes, temporarily suppressing her anger to ask.
But Two-Foot Adult was faster, pulling a crumpled letter from her bosom: “It’s an urgent letter from Lord Yoshimoto!”
The displeasure and coldness on Okabe Motonobu’s face instantly dissipated.
She strode over, carefully took the letter from Two-Foot Adult, and quickly but meticulously scanned it.
Then, she froze in place.
A full minute later, Okabe Motonobu deeply furrowed her brows and muttered to herself: “In this world, such a thing actually exists?”
She nodded to Two-Foot Adult, then roared outside,
“Summon all generals and above!”
“Now! Immediately!”
……
—【King Kujira（Three-and-a-half Star）】.
A huge prompt with a hint of red popped up.
Three-and-a-half Star, huh.
Shangshan Che let go, placing his hand on the hilt of Kaga Kiyomitsu, but didn’t draw yet.
He called out loudly: “Your Excellency King Kujira, I mean no harm.”
This King Kujira was the strongest demon he’d seen since arriving in the Sengoku Period.
Casually encountering a rank surpassing the map’s star level… It seemed high-star demons in hidden maps weren’t uncommon.
Just the color of this overhead label was different from the few high-star prompts he’d seen before.
Like Ai Bieli and the Ju-Hina Yako Master back then had blood-red labels, but this Three-and-a-half Star King Kujira only had a faint red tint.
It looked big, but not very scary.
After a brief silence, a thick voice with a heavy accent, halting and intermittent, interrupted the blacksmithing sounds and slowly emerged from the fog,
“I’ve warned you people several times.”
After these words, Shangshan Che felt a gaze like high beams scan him several times vigilantly, then the surrounding killing intent gradually faded.
King Kujira said flatly: “Since you’re not with that disgusting guy, leave quickly.”
Disgusting guy?
Shangshan Che guessed: “Your Excellency means the one spreading plague demons everywhere?”
A loud snorting sound rang out.
“Seems you’ve encountered those things too, human.” King Kujira said gravely, “Enough, I’m not very interested in you. Go down the mountain.”
“Leaving the mountain now would be unwise.”
Shangshan Che cupped his hands: “I’ve come this time to have the master craftsman in that temple forge a weapon. I hope King Kujira…”
“Get lost!!!”
As if poked in a sore spot, King Kujira roared, even temporarily dispersing the deep fog around them.
Thus, its massive body, two or three stories tall like a small mountain, appeared before their eyes.
King Kujira was over ten meters tall just standing, with two pale, winding tusks gleaming coldly, its body surface crisscrossed with countless scars large and small.
It lowered its head, coldly overlooking the comparatively tiny humans.
Shangshan Che tapped the hilt.
—King Kujira having intelligence and awareness was good, but obstructing him was not.
But given its Three-and-a-half Star strength and potential as an ally against Affliction, a few more words were fine.
He patiently explained: “That plague and monster source is called ‘Affliction.’ If left alone, in just a month everything on this mountain will wither and die.
And I’ve come to Mikawa to deal with that Affliction.”
As he spoke, Shangshan Che extended an invitation to King Kujira: “I wonder if Your Excellency understands this simple reasoning and can lend a hand?”
“Dealing with plague demons, possible.”
King Kujira, who had lived who-knows-how-long, replied, but before Shangshan Che could exhale, it emphasized heavily,
“But Master Craftsman Adult won’t see you!”
Master Craftsman Adult…
Shangshan Che tilted his head, sensing a deeper connection.
But that wasn’t too important.
What mattered was this wild boar obstructing him even after warnings.
“Then it seems we can’t reach an agreement?”
Shangshan Che calmly drew his blade, pale color dripping from the tip, drawing King Kujira’s vigilant gaze.
“Human, sheathe your blade and retreat now, and we can discuss cooperation.”
It said coldly, the sound waves echoing in the mountain, lingering long,
“Otherwise…”
Before it finished, Shangshan Che felt one vicious gaze after another from the surrounding fog.
A casual glance revealed rows of 【Mountain Whale】 prompts popping up.
Though most were Half-Star and One-Star, such numbers in the mountain couldn’t be underestimated.
Shangshan Che shook his head, dazzling lightning blooming around him: “Really, don’t appreciate the favor.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto said nothing, drawing her dual blades as well.
“Little ones…”
As King Kujira was about to speak, the blacksmithing sounds suddenly vanished completely.
The next moment, a high-pitched voice came from the ruined temple,
“—Stop!”
Shangshan Che raised a brow; this voice unexpectedly sounded familiar.
Strange.
And King Kujira, upon hearing the voice, softened its fierce face immediately, even becoming fawning.
It ignored Shangshan Che and the other, kneeling toward the ruined temple, bowing its head deeply, and saying in a trembling voice,
“Master Craftsman Adult… long time no see!”
But the voice ignored it, full of doubt and disbelief,
“Mr. Hannya?”
Mr. Hannya?
Who would call him that?
Shangshan Che was stunned. He first glanced at the altered Hannya Mask at his waist, then looked toward the voice.
Then, behind the ruined temple’s threshold, he saw a familiar yet somewhat strange face that absolutely shouldn’t be here no matter what.
Her?
But how was that possible?
Shangshan Che sheathed his blade and was silent for a long time, finally gazing at her and tentatively replying,
“Zashiki, long time no see.”
